Chapter 2 of The Rover is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Rover is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked. “I left Toulon two days ago.” Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary. “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed. “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
Chapter 2 of The Rover is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading ““Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.”
a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
From this reading “Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.”
past form of “complain” — express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading ““And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.”
issue a decree
From this reading ““And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.”
lower than previously
From this reading ““And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.”
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading “Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.”
a clear appearance
From this reading “Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.”
lasting for a markedly brief time
From this reading “Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading ““I left Toulon two days ago.””
In this reading ““And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.”
In this reading ““Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
in the past
From this reading “I left Toulon two days ago.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
marked by assurance; exhibiting confidence
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
past form of “complain” — express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading “I left Toulon two days ago.”
issue a decree
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
lower than previously
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
(physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I left Toulon two days ago.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
immediately past
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “I left Toulon two days ago.”
a clear appearance
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
lasting for a markedly brief time
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
used to form the superlative
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
having a supporting base
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
not in physical motion
From this reading “Most of it is still standing,” Peyrol assured him calmly.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
a port city and naval base in southeastern France on the Mediterranean coast
From this reading “I left Toulon two days ago.”
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “I left Toulon two days ago.”
a formal word for “on”
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
precisely as stated
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
in or at the place that
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading “And that was the town of which by a decree not a stone upon another was to be left,” he complained, much depressed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Citizen Scevola struck the table with his fist, but this manifestation of energy was very momentary.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Where do you come from?” was the last question he asked.
Chapter 2 of The Rover by Joseph Conrad holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 2 holds 420 sentences of The Rover, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Rover by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 2 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Rover by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5476 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59142 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59142, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 456 minutes of reading across 1096 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rover section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Rover to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Rover, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
